Health Policy & Public Health Seminar Series

Quality Improvement in Female Reproductive Health Care

Join us for a conversational presentation from Dr. Erin Brennand about the emerging signal regarding variation of female reproductive health care and challenges measuring quality. Moderated by Amity Quinn, PhD.

Sustaining Public Health Research and Education in Canada

Our second presenter in this series is Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, Dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. This talk will touch on some of the opportunities for these sorts of collaborations and what a sustainable pan-Canadian public health research and education enterprise could look like. Moderated by Dr. Fiona Clement.

Leveraging an Alberta-wide clinical information system to integrate prevention into routine healthcare in the province: policy and practice implications

In the third talk of this series, Dr. Kamala Adhikari, PhD, will provide an overview of the Integrating Prevention into the Connect Care for Health (IPiC-Health) project, the project’s implementation approach, and research plan. She will also cover the progress and achievements to date, lessons learned from patients, providers, and the project team, and highlight a way forward. Moderated by Dr. Gary Teare.

The slides are difficult to see in this recording, you can download them HERE to follow along.

Navigating the Divide: Challenges in Policy Building on Substance Use, Harm Reduction, and Decriminalization in Alberta

Our fourth speaker is Dr. Monty Ghosh, MD, who will explore the complexities of building effective policies around substance use, harm reduction, recovery, and decriminalization in Alberta, Canada, focusing on the tensions and challenges faced by policymakers. It will delve into how conservative and liberal political perspectives shape the discourse and approach to these critical issues, examining the impact on public health, justice systems, and community outcomes. Participants will gain insights into the evolving landscape of drug policy in Alberta and navigate complex discussions in this area. Moderated by Dr. Amity Quinn.

How to achieve policy impact in a political environment - a collaboration with CHS and the O'Brien Institute

An expert panel comprised of Stephen Samis, Katrina Milaney (PhD), and Aleem Bharwani (MD) will explore strategies for building and advancing health policy in political environments, focusing on techniques to navigate opposition and gain support. Participants will learn how to effectively communicate policy goals, build coalitions, and leverage data to influence decision-makers. Practical insights will be shared on how to remain resilient and adaptable while driving meaningful change in health policy despite political barriers. Moderated by Dr. Fiona Clement.

Due to the nature of the discussion, this seminar was not recorded.

Please Note: this seminar will be hosted at the University of Alberta, from 10:30 - 11:30am
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood vaccination in Alberta

Our sixth presentation is by Dr. Shannon MacDonald, a Professor in Nursing and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Applied Pediatric Immunization. Her talk will cover how the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic caused critical drops in vaccine coverage for routine childhood vaccines, leaving public health programs with the challenge of identifying and vaccinating those who missed recommended doses. Understanding of the current status of vaccine coverage and the impact of the pandemic on vaccine attitudes is needed to guide target public health action. This session will provide insight into the impact of the pandemic on vaccine attitudes and uptake for routine childhood vaccines, and examine the effectiveness of public health strategies to catch-up vaccination for children impacted during the pandemic.

Please Note: this seminar will be hosted virtually only. Please register to receive the Zoom link details.

Vision 2030: Moving data to public health action

Vision 2030, presented by Dr. David Buckeridge, is a Public Health Agency of Canada initiative that outlines the future of public health surveillance in Canada by 2030. The final report, recently published, reflects the input from approximately 1,800 participants. This presentation will provide an overview of the findings and showcase ten opportunities for action to address persistent challenges communicated by public health practitioners across the country.

David Buckeridge is the Executive Scientific Director of the Data, Surveillance and Foresight Branch at Public Health Agency of Canada. He is also a Professor at McGill University in Montreal, affiliated with Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Department of Medicine, and School of Population and Global Health, as well as the Chief Digital Health Officer for the McGill University Health Centre. Dr. Buckeridge holds a M.D. from Queen’s University, a M.Sc. in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, a Ph.D. in Biomedical informatics from Stanford University and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada with specialty training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. He is also the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Population Health Informatics. Dr. Buckeridge has consulted on surveillance to organizations such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, the US Institute of Medicine, the US Center for Disease Control, the European Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization.

The Health Policy Trials Unit (HPTU) welcomed special guest, Dr. Ingeborg Hess Elgersma, all the way from Norway to give this seminar.

Running Trials at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health – Opportunities and Challenges

This talk will provide an overview of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Centre for Epidemic Intervention Research (CEIR). It will discuss the challenges faced in running trials of public health policies from within a public health institute. Drawing on examples from CEIR, the talk will explore innovative strategies for conducting pragmatic randomized trials.

Dr. Ingeborg Hess Elgersma is a researcher with the Centre for Epidemic Intervention Research at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, where she has conducted several pragmatic randomized trials of public health and social measures for infection control. A political scientist by training, she is interested in facilitating the use of experiments to measure the effects of public health policies.

Homelessness & the Challenges of Translating Research into Policy and Practice

Translating research into positive change in policy and practice is challenging at the best of times.  On the issue of homelessness, these challenges are particularly daunting. Dr. Hwang will discuss his experiences, successes, and failures over the years, highlighting learnings that researchers can apply to their own work.

Dr. Stephen Hwang is Director of St. Michael’s Hospital’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on interventions to end chronic homelessness and to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness. He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Homelessness, Housing and Health.

Due to tech issues this recording is unfortunately not available.

The Impact of British Columbia’s Contraception Subsidy

Cost-related barriers reduce contraception use, especially for the most effective long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods. In 2023, British Columbia became the first province to universally cover contraception with no copayments. Dr. Law will discuss the effect of this coverage on use and costs for prescription contraception, and will explore what these findings mean for national pharmacare in other provinces.

Dr. Michael Law holds the Canada Research Chair in Access to Medicines at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on the affordability of prescription drugs, pharmaceutical policy, and the use of administrative data for policy evaluation across numerous topic areas. He will be moving to a position at the University of Calgary as of July, 2025, where he will be appointed as a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and Academic Director of the Centre for Health Policy.

Moderated by Amity Quinn, PhD.